This is why Louis Pasteur is famous

Lab tests confirmed that four children under the age of 15 have contracted E. coli linked to raw milk from a small Oregon farm, state health officials said Friday.

Three of the Oregon children have been hospitalized, officials said, two of them with kidney failure, and Foundation Farm near Wilsonville has voluntarily stopped distributing milk. Health officials said 11 other customers of the dairy are reporting recent diarrhea and other symptoms typical of E. coli.

Federal regulations outlaw interstate sales of raw milk, but 30 states allow it to be sold within their borders. Oregon law prohibits retail sales, along with other restrictions, but allows on-farm sales.

But it’s organic, right? Healthier for you?

“Raw milk can carry harmful bacteria that can make you very sick or kill you,” said Dr. Katrina Hedberg, the state epidemiologist. “Pasteurized milk has many health benefits. Raw milk is not any healthier than pasteurized milk and can carry illness-causing bacteria.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that raw milk can be contaminated with listeria, salmonella and other bacteria. Unpasteurized milk from a Pennsylvania farm was linked to more than 40 illnesses in four states earlier this year, and three children were hospitalized with E. coli linked to raw milk in California last year.

“…make you very sick or kill you,” are not the words you should think of when you pour your child a glass of milk. Killing dangerous bacteria is a good thing, and sending three children to the hospital – two with kidney failure – is a bad thing.

I’d love to ask these people what they think about flouride in the water.

Facts, reason, and statistics don’t mean anything to the “organic!”/”freedom!”/”anti-science” crowd. Nor does the fact that pasteurization helped make dairy production a billion dollar industry in Wisconsin alone mean much to that group. Or that every headline which links milk to disease potentially damages one of Wisconsin’s most valuable and stable industries.

The only real benefit I’ve heard is that unpasteurized milk tastes a little better. Frankly, I think if you took whole milk and added some cream you’d get almost all the taste and none of the potential side effects.

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